• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.405-416
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• 2009

Almost 18,000 children were protected in 285 residential facilities all over the country in 2008 in Korea. The recent trends of the residential care include downsizing, and emphasizing independent living programs for aging out youths. Since the 1990s when the active research on the children in residential facilities has begun, the study focus has extended to the issues of developmental status and outcomes of the children, and recently, to the independency of the youths discharged from the facilities. The practical and policy issues are development of therapeutic programs for the children in care, increase of counseling staff, extension of programs for restoring children's relationship with their families, and planning of various policies to support the independence of discharged youths.